


Searching

by SharkGirl



Series: SouRin Week Sep 2015 [7]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Childhood Friends, Day 7, Day 7: Pirates, M/M, Pirates, SouRin Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4828562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkGirl/pseuds/SharkGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke hated pirates.  He loathed them with every fiber of his being.</p><p>But you would too if they took someone precious from you.</p><p>Written for Day 7 of SouRin Week, Paper:  Pirates</p>
            </blockquote>





	Searching

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!! I know I'm ESPECIALLY early with Day 7...BUT I have to run a Half Marathon this morning and I didn't want to wait until after to post this~ (Plus, I'm so excited...pirates, yay!!)  
> This isn't exactly what I originally intended to write for this prompt...but, I'm happy with it.  
> Thanks to my betas, indevan and DolphinGirl~

Sousuke hated pirates.  He loathed them with every fiber of his being.  But you would too if they took someone precious from you.

Growing up, Sousuke was a fairly cautious boy, not cowardly, but mature for his age and a bit more reserved than his childhood friend, Rin.  Though, Rin had a way of getting Sousuke to set aside his concerns and go along with whatever crazy idea popped into his head, usually persuading the brunet with a dare.

Both boys were the sons of fishermen living in the port town of Iwatobi.  It wasn’t a glamorous life, but their fathers’ jobs put clothes on their backs and food in their bellies.  Still, Rin dreamed of more.

Late at night, when they should have been sleeping, Sousuke and Rin would sneak out and meet by the old dead tree near the breakwater.  Rin’s idea, of course.  They would stare out into the seemingly never-ending blackness of the ocean at night, with the moon glinting off of its surface and the sound of its waves breaking against the rocks below.

“One day I’m going to sail away from here and see the world,” Rin had said, facing the pitch black horizon.  He turned back, flashing Sousuke a sharp-toothed grin.  “You’ll come with me, right?”

In the winter of their eighth year, Rin’s father was taken by the sea, his ship swallowed into its untold murky depths during a particularly awful storm.  One would think that such a tragedy would quell the young redhead’s thirst for adventure on the very thing that took his father away, but it did not.  If anything, it made Rin even more eager to explore the world, to understand it.

“He was a brave man,” Rin said when they met at their secret spot the night after the funeral.  “My father enjoyed sailing, so I’m glad he died doing something he loved.”  His voice wavered a bit with emotion.

“Rin,” Sousuke stepped forward, but stopped, unsure of what to say to comfort his friend.

“Did you know that he once sailed across the Sea of Japan and back?” Rin went on.  “He dreamed of seeing the world, but chose to stay here and marry my mother,” he took a deep breath.  “If he hadn’t decided to start a family, he might have-”

“He made his choice,” Sousuke finally spoke up.  “He chose you.”

“Still…” Rin lowered his head with a heavy sigh.  “He never got a chance to see anything beyond that,” he jutted his chin toward the horizon.  “One day I will see it,” he promised.  “I’ll do it for him,” he turned to face Sousuke and gave a watery smile.  “I’ll show him a sight he’s never seen before.”

Four years passed before Rin’s opportunity came, not that he realized it until it was too late.

Sousuke and Rin were helping Sousuke’s father repair his fishing net when a huge ship pulled into the wharf.  It was much larger than the supply ships that docked there and it looked nothing like the naval ships that anchored in their harbor from time to time.  This ship was older and battle worn with large, splintered holes in its side from where it had taken canon fire.

The gangplank fell to the dock with a heavy smack and a tall, slender man disembarked.  He was dressed in an old naval coat, too worn and outdated to be official.  He wore a musket on his hip and a bandolier over his shoulder.  His face was obscured by the salt-stained cocked hat on his head, the plume all but bare.

“Seems we’ve arrived in a pleasant town, boys,” he said in a gravelly voice and nearly a dozen men began following after him.  The men were nowhere near as nicely dressed, not that his outfit was something to admire.  Some men didn’t even have shirts on at all.

“Father, are those men-” Sousuke began, but his father hushed him.

“Keep your head down and let them go about their business,” he told them.  Sousuke immediately ducked down, focusing on tying the broken part of the net in his hands.  Rin, on the other hand, kept his head up, following the troupe of newcomers and watching as they bartered with the locals for goods, paying with strange golden coins he’d never seen before.

The men seemed to like Iwatobi enough to stay the night.  They easily filled all the rooms in the small inn, drinking and laughing raucously in the tavern all hours of the night.

“We really shouldn’t be here,” Sousuke hissed as he and Rin peeked through the windows of the tavern, the lamplight reflecting off of their curious eyes.

“I just want to see what those men are up to,” Rin whispered back, peering back inside.  “I heard some of the shop owners in town talking earlier,” he continued, watching as a large man downed a pint as though it was a shot.  “They said those men are pirates.”

“Pirates?!” Sousuke shouted and then covered his mouth when Rin put a finger to his lips, signaling for him to be quiet.  “Pirates?” he asked again, this time in a whisper.

“Yeah,” the shorter boy’s crimson eyes lit up.  “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Cool?” the brunet raised his eyebrows and then drew them back down.  “My father says they’ll leave in the morning,” he glanced back into the tavern.  “Mom was worried about them,” he added.

“So they must be pirates then,” Rin said giddily.  “Hey, I have an idea,” he shot up and walked back toward the harbor.

“Where are you going?” Sousuke asked, following after him.  “We should really head back,” he said.  “My parents are nervous with those men in town and they’re bound to check and see if I’m in-”

“Stop being such a worrywart, Sousuke,” the redhead turned and smirked at him.  “I just want to check out their ship, is all.”

“Oh, well if that’s-” the taller boy froze.  “What?!”

“Be quiet, will you?” Rin hissed at him.  “Do you want to get us caught?”

“No, that’s exactly what I don’t want to happen,” Sousuke frowned.  They walked a bit further and stared up at the large ship, silhouetted by the moon.  “Alright, you saw it, let’s go.”

“I want to see the inside,” Rin started walking up the gangplank.

“Rin,” Sousuke reached out and grabbed the shorter boy’s arm, pulling him back.  “That’s enough,” he said.  “We should go home.”

“What’s the matter, _Sou-chan_?” the redhead turned and clasped his hands together, batting his eyelashes derisively.  “Scared?”

“Concerned for our wellbeing,” the brunet corrected.

“I understand if you’re too chicken to climb aboard,” Rin pulled his arm free and started walking up the plank again.  “You just stay here,” he offered.  “I wouldn’t want you wetting your pants and crying or anything.”

“Hey, you’re the crybaby,” Sousuke clenched his fists at his sides.  He watched as Rin reached the top of the gangplank and disappeared onto the deck.  “Damn it,” he cursed and followed after him.  “Rin?” he whispered, searching the ship.

“Over here,” the younger boy called, waving him over.  “Think this is where they keep their buried treasure?” he asked, pointing to a barrel.

“It’s not buried if it’s on their ship,” Sousuke said flatly.  “Besides, I think that’s probably pickled vegetables or wine or something.”

“Well, aren’t we the pirate know-it-all?” Rin stuck his tongue out.

“Anyway, we should really be going,” the brunet urged.  He’d lost track of how much time had passed since they’d sneaked out of their rooms.

“Fine, fine,” the redhead finally conceded.  They turned to walk off the ship, but they heard voices.  Rin looked at him with wide eyes.

“C’mon boys, we’ve abused enough of this town’s kind hospitality,” it was the gravelly voice of the captain.  “Time to be shovin’ off.” 

They heard the heavy footfalls of the large men climbing back up the gangplank.  They had nowhere to go.  Quickly, Rin and Sousuke ducked behind the fife rail, hiding amongst the ropes.

“How about that innkeeper’s wife, eh?” one of the men hooted.

“Yeah, fine cook, too,” another added.

“I wouldn’t mind getting a taste of her!” a third man guffawed and the rest joined in.

“Enough!” the captain’s gravelly voice came again.  “Weigh the anchor and let’s be on our way.” 

“Aye!” the men answered.  Sousuke and Rin peeked between the ropes and watched the flurry of movement as the men readied the ship for departure.  They looked at each other and nodded.  If they were going to get off the ship, now was the time.  The boys made it roughly four steps before they were hauled up by the backs of their shirts, suspended in the air by one of the larger of the men.

“Well, well, what do we have ‘ere?” his voice was deep and his breath smelled like liquor and old meat.  “Couple’a stowaways, eh?”

“P-Please let us g-go,” Sousuke tried his hardest to sound tough, mentally cursing himself for stuttering.

“Eh, Captain!” the large man held them up higher.  “What should I do with these little runts?” he asked with a low chuckle.

“Children?” the slender man in the oversized hat looked them up and down.  “Get rid of them,” he gestured, but the vessel was already in motion.

“Okay, you two,” the big guy carried them over to the edge.  “Better do this quickly.”

Sousuke was frozen in fear.  ‘Get rid of them?’  What did that mean?  Was the large man going to kill them just because they’d sneaked onto the ship?  Were pirates that ruthless?

They neared the railing and he held them up a bit higher.  Sousuke could see the dark waves below and the dock getting smaller as they pulled away from it.

“Thanks for the visit, kids,” he said and then screamed in pain.  Sousuke may have been too frightened to move, but Rin sure wasn’t.  He kicked the large man in the stomach.  “Why you little-”

Sousuke immediately felt the grip of his shirt collar go slack and then he was falling, falling impossibly far.  He’d been thrown overboard.

He felt all of the air leave his lungs as he plummeted into the freezing water.  It was so cold that it burned his skin.  He fought his way back to the surface, breaking through the waves of the ship’s wake and taking a huge gulp of air.  He treaded water as best he could in the backwash, head whipping from side to side in search of his friend.

“Rin!” he called and choked as he swallowed a mouth full of seawater.  “RIN!!” he shouted again, feeling panic seizing his lungs in combination with the ice-cold water.

Sousuke turned and looked up at the ship, the glow from its lanterns dimming as it floated away from him in the mist of the early morning.  He barely caught sight of a crop of red hair as a small boy struggled against the grip of another one of the pirates.  He was still onboard.

“RIN!” he tried again, coughing and sputtering as the waves threatened to pull him under.

“SOUSUKE!” he heard the other boy scream back, but it was dampened by the waves.  He had to get to the ship.  He had to stop them from hurting Rin.  He had to save him. 

Sousuke swam as quickly as he could, ignoring the numbness in his arms and legs.  But no matter how fast he swam, he couldn’t catch up to the ship.  Soon, he couldn’t even see the glow of the lanterns.

“Rin…” he coughed and then everything went black.

Later, when Sousuke came to, he found out he was scooped up by a fisherman out for an early catch.  The first thing he asked the man was if he’d seen the ship or Rin, but the older gentleman shook his head, saying that the only person he saw floating out there was Sousuke.

Ten years passed and Sousuke never gave up hope that somehow, somewhere Rin was still alive.  He took a job with a shipping company, deciding that he’d never find him if he stayed a fisherman in Iwatobi.  His work took him to every port imaginable, at least, imaginable to a boy who’d never left his hometown.

He was slowly, but surely living Rin’s dream for him, if the redhead wasn’t able to make it come true himself.  But Sousuke couldn’t let himself think that way.  Rin was alive.  He had to be.

Now, at twenty-two years old, Sousuke was the captain of his vessel.  They were carrying dried fish and squid, nothing particularly costly or interesting, so one could imagine his shock when their ship was fired upon.

The pirates’ ship had come out of nowhere and was suddenly upon them.  Sousuke was busy trying to get his men to safety, ushering them below, when he was hit on the back of the head.  His vision swam as he fell.  He reached for his cutlass, unsheathing it, but someone kicked it to the side, stopping him from fighting back.

“Now, now, can’t have you doing that, Captain,” a gentle voice said.  It was almost soothing.  “Rei, Nagisa,” the man called.  “Take this man aboard and inform the captain.”  Sousuke tried to lift his head, but it felt so heavy.  The blow was getting to him.  He closed his eyes.

When he awoke, he was in a dark room.  The steady dripping of water and rocking let him know he was on a ship.  His eyes slowly adjusted to the low light.  There were a few oil lamps burning, but it wasn’t enough to clue him in to where he was. 

“You’re awake,” a voice said in a deadpan manner.  Sousuke heard the scraping of chair legs against the wooden floor.  “I’ll inform the captain.”

“Hey wait!” he called, but the other man was gone.  Sousuke sighed and moved to rub his face with his hands, but they were stuck behind him.  He turned and, even with the dim light affecting his vision, he felt the cool metal of shackles around his wrists.  He pulled a bit and found little give.  He managed to get up onto his knees, but that was about it.

A creaking to his left signaled the door opening.  He swallowed.  So, the captain was coming.  He couldn’t see his face in the darkness.  He could barely make out the threadbare naval jacket he wore and the oversized cocked hat.  Sousuke’s eyes widened.  Could it be the pirate from all those years ago?

“I see you’re awake, Captain,” the man said.  The voice wasn’t that of the pirate’s from back then, but it did sound familiar, though deeper than he recalled.  “Your cargo wasn’t exactly what we were looking for,” the captain continued, pulling up the chair the other man had been sitting in earlier.

“Take whatever you want, but leave my men alone,” Sousuke said.  “We can always get more product, but those men have wives and families back home.”

“Aren’t _you_ noble?” the other man teased.  “And what about you, Captain?” he asked.  “You got a wife waiting for you?”

“No,” he admitted, not sure why he didn’t just lie.

“You need not worry about your men,” the captain continued.  “We’ve released our hold on your ship and sent them on their way.”  Sousuke was relieved.  Even if he was captured, at least his men were safe.  “You know,” the other man stood up and walked closer.  “You looked familiar when Makoto had you brought aboard.”

“I’m sure we’ve never met,” Sousuke glowered.  “I don’t associate with pirates,” he spat at the floor near the captain’s feet.

“Ooh, temper,” the man clicked his tongue.  “Why’s that?”

“They took someone precious from me,” he snarled.  He had no reason to lie.  He was as good as dead anyway.

“I thought it was you, but I had to make sure,” the man leaned down and removed his hat.  He grabbed a lamp and held it close to his face.  “It’s been a long time, Sousuke,” he grinned, baring sharp teeth and a smile that the brunet thought he might never see again.

“Rin!”

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you guys think? Should I continue this story?  
> I do want to talk about what happened to Rin during their separation.
> 
> P.S. My original concept for this story was Pirate Captain!Rin coming down to interrogate their 'prisoner' only to recognize Sousuke...and then they do it in the brig or whatever. (Oops...)
> 
> Let me know if you guys want to read more about these two (if I continue, I will need to up the rating...maybe not for IMMEDIATELY after they're reunited, but...down the line)


End file.
